French giants Stade Francais will take European rugby to three new venues this season, with all three of their home matches being moved away from Paris.

They will take their round 2 clash against fellow French side Grenoble to the Stade Oceane in Le Harve and then play Italian side I Cavalieri Prato in round 4 at the MMArena in Le Mans. Their final pool match against Aviva Premiership newboys London Welsh will take place at the 25,000 capacity Stade du Hainaut in Valenciennes, a little over 200 kilometres from the French capital.

In the past they have taken European and domestic matches to the 80,000 capacity Stade de France in Paris, where cheap tickets and a pre-match show ensured full houses. Richard Pool-Jones' side were runners-up in the 2011 final to Harlequins and then lost in the semi-finals to Toulon in 2012.